In the fourth quarter (statement), Verizon reported a loss of 23 cents a share, or $653 million, compared to a profit of 43 cents a share a year ago. Adjusted for severance, pensions and other charges, Verizon had earnings of 54 cents, in line with Wall Street estimates.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was up 10 percent to $27.1 billion. Verizon's revenue got a boost from the acquisition of Alltel. For 2009, Verizon reported earnings of $1.29 a share on revenue of $107.8 billion.

In a statement, Verizon said that it transitioned away from a deteriorating wireline business to one focused on wireless and data revenue. For 2010, Verizon said it would spend $16.8 billion to $17.2 billion on capital spender. Earnings per share will fall 4 cents a share to 6 cents a share in 2010 from 2009 due to retiree benefit costs.

On a conference call, Verizon executives talked a lot about wireless. A few quick points:

Executives noted that the company has seen some success porting customers over from AT&T. However, the company didn't break out any hard statistics. Verizon noted that it is more competitive in the smartphone market with the Droid and Palm Pre.

Verizon said it was comfortable that its network and that it could hold up under the strain of data demand from smartphones. Executives noted that the iPhone is a good product that has changed the game for data consumption. Verizon has been modeling data usage on the Droid, Eris and Storm and the impact on its network.

Verizon knows the limitations and executives feel that they are in front of the potential data limitations. Executives added that its roll-out of LTE technology will be able to support more data consumption.

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